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Working Together Theme for Democrats; Planned Parenthood President Backs Clinton; Race and Equality. Aired 8:30-9:00a ET

Aired July 27, 2016 - 08:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[08:30:00] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Mayor Reed is introducing former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg tonight. Now that's a very interesting contrast. Let's just talk a little politics first about that.

MAYOR KASIM REED, (D) ATLANTA: Sure. Of course.

CUOMO: Bloomberg, obviously, a new wave conservative, very, very popular with New York. What does he mean tonight, what do you want people to know about what Bloomberg represents?

REED: Well, he really represents politicians beyond partisanship. And for Michael Bloomberg, given his career and his track record, the success he had in transforming New York, really to step out and speak on the closing night of the Democratic Convention we think speaks exactly to what Americans want. The future of politics is performance. And what Michael Bloomberg did in New York was all about performance. His business career has been about performance. And we think he's going to get out and make a very strong case for why Secretary Clinton is the right person to be president of the United States. And it's just a cherry on top that he's from New York, the home state of the Republican nominee.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Congressman, let's talk about terrorism. You know, Chris and I have lost track of how many terror attacks we've had to cover in the past probably month alone. While we've just been here yesterday, there were more terror attacks, one in France, one in Mogadishu and yet the Democrats have not been talking about that. This is something that the Republicans really hit home and it seemed to work for them. Why aren't we talking more about terror here?

REP. XAVIER BECERRA (D), CALIFORNIA: Well, we - if you noticed yesterday, we talked quite a bit about terror. We talked about terror that comes from abroad and we talked about the terror that hits our homes in our neighborhoods everyday as well. And so for us it's very important that we stop all the violence, whether it's done by some fanatic who comes from some other country who wants to do us harm, or if it comes from some fanatic here in this country who is on a daily basis making it very difficult for a parent to feel comfortable about taking their kids to school.

CAMEROTA: You mean gun violence. I mean -

BECERRA: Any type of violence. Terror is terror. At the end of the day, if you're a mother or father and you fear your kids going to school, you fear going to work, you fear going out to a nightclub, it's terror. We want to attack it all. And certainly Madelyn Albright made it very clear, you have Secretary - Secretary of State Clinton who knows about terror.

CUOMO: But you know, as the mayor of a major city -

REED: Absolutely.

CUOMO: It ain't all the same to your constituents. It's one thing to be afraid when you leave your house that somebody's going to hit you on the head with a brick, or there's a problem if you're going to meet a police officer or you're a police officer and you're afraid of what happens when you meet a citizen. Those are all individual categories. All of them are different than terror. And the Republican argument is simple, you don't talk about it because you caused it.

REED: Yes.

CUOMO: ISIS is your creation. President Obama called it the JV team. He was dead wrong. Secretary Clinton was there for the formation of this new threat. That's you're ignoring it.

REED: Well, you know what, Chris, the fact of the matter is, that's flat out not true. The president hasn't been ignoring it, nor have leaders in cities. The fact of the matter is, is much of what we're seeing from ISIS right now, as you know, is because they're being pushed in the Middle East and in the territory that they were claiming as a caliphate. So the more aggressive we've gotten in eliminating that territory, which was the subject of debate for four months before the specific terrorist attacks, they then moved from the caliphate out into different parts of the country.

Now, we know that's a hard explanation, but what we do is we work on solving the problem. And the problem is eliminating the caliphate. As you eliminate the caliphate, you will have more strikes, and that's what military experts have said. It doesn't make it less easy to deal with, but we know that Donald Trump is also about - all about easy answers and easy solutions. And what he wants is a chaotic environment because he believes he thrives in chaos. This isn't about Democrats being weak. This is about Democrats and our military being strong and aggressive.

So what we're going to be talking about is what we're going to do to address people who are trained in other parts of the Middle East, who are now bringing their terror to cities. What Donald Trump ought to be talking about, and what Democrats are going to be talking about this week and in the days to come, is what we're going to do to protect our cities, how we need to make sure that the women and men on our police department have security vests that can take a bullet from an assault rifle while Donald Trump does everything in his power to protect the NRA.

I'm sending my men and women into situations where they're out gunned and out manned. That's what Donald Trump ought to be talking about. But he won't talk about that, will he, because he's beholden to the NRA. And if you want to talk about what's going on in America, it's what happens when I give the order for my police office to go into situations that are dangerous and threatening and the Republicans' failure to deal with any issues concerning gun control and the NRA.

CAMEROTA: Well, I mean, the Republicans say that we're living in dangerous times and they - you heard Donald Trump, he's the law and order candidate, he believes. And they've painted a picture that these are dangerous, unsettling times. That Americans do feel scared. But it's hard to get the real picture. Do you think that we're living in dangerous times, congressman, or do you think that America is safer than it has been before, because we hear both stories?

[08:35:05] BECERRA: Well, we certainly are living in dangerous times, but we are certainly safer than most any other country. Can you name me a country that has better security, that has done a better job of keeping outsiders from coming into the country to attack our citizens? If you think about the recent attacks in our country, they've been committed by folk who have been in this country or born in this country.

CAMEROTA: But that's not helpful. I mean nobody wants to go to, you know, their office and be mowed down.

BECERRA: Of course not, but - but there's a - there's a difference between saying ISIS is driving all these attacks because they're infiltrating the U.S., versus a lone wolf or someone who's - who's somehow converted to their - their kind of thinking. That's a very different things because now you're asking our intelligence sources and our law enforcement sources domestically to be able to catch someone who's a lone wolf.

CAMEROTA: Right.

BECERRA: There are things that we are doing to protect Americans far greater than what other countries have done.

CUOMO: It's a causation argument here. Let me give you one last chance at this here, which is, there's a problem, who's to blame? And that answer leads to, then who should you pick to fix it? You just made a strong case about all the different threats that you see as the mayor of a big city.

REED: Yes, Chris.

CUOMO: The opposition says, yes, those are tough problems. Too bad you caused them, your party. You're worried about your cops. Stop having Black Lives Matter as the center of your political party, which threatens the police on a regular basis. That's why you need these vests in the first place. What's the answer?

REED: Chris, I think that whoever says that is delusional. Nobody can talk about ISIS without talking about President Bush's war that really led to ISIS. So it was the initial decision to go into Iraq. So if you want to have the conversation, let's have all of it. The instability that was caused in the Middle East that really led to ISIS came out of a decision that was made to invade Iraq. That said, we're going to do everything that is necessary to protect

our officers locally. But we can't be what the Republican parties are. We can't come up with simple solutions. What we can do is explain in detail what we're doing, and the consequences of it. You all have reported on this show that military experts have said many of the instances we are seeing are a result of us being very aggressive towards the territory that they had taken.

Now, these are consequences. We need to be out here explaining to the American people what the consequences are, just try - not trying to act like it's simply a chaotic environment. These are repercussions from us taking back the territory that you all have been reporting on for some time.

BECERRA: Chris, if I could just add -

CAMEROTA: Quickly.

BECERRA: When 9/11 occurred, it happened under George Bush's watch. We didn't go out there and start saying, it's George Bush's and the Republican Party's fault. We came together as a country and said, hey, we've got to go after this. These are folks who are trying to harm us. They are terrorists. We came together. We haven't seen any kind of attack at the level of 9/11.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

CUOMO: Thank God.

BECERRA: But what we should do is be addressing this, attacking this as Americans, not as Republican, not as Democrats.

CAMEROTA: Congressman, Mr. Mayor, thank you.

REED: Thank you for having us.

BECERRA: Thank you.

CUOMO: You're always welcome here to make the case. We've got a lot move discussing to do.

BECERRA: Thank you.

REED: Thank you.

CUOMO: So, the potential for the first female president is a big deal and certainly women are cheering about it. The president of Planned Parenthood says it's especially important for her and her cause. Why she says the stakes for young women have never been higher, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:42:19] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CECILE RICHARDS, PRESIDENT, PLANNED PARENTHOOD ACTION FUND: Mr. Trump, come this November, women are going to be a lot more than an inconvenience. Yep. Because women are going to be the reason you're not elected to be president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: That was Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, speaking last night. She gave a ringing endorsement of Hillary Clinton. She's making the case for why a Clinton presidency will champion women's reproductive rights and health care. And Cecile Richards joins us now.

Good morning. Great to have you here.

CECILE RICHARDS, PRESIDENT, PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA: Good to be here.

CAMEROTA: So last night you made the case and you said - I think you went so far as to say that you believe this ticket of Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine would be more committed to women's health than any other team before.

RICHARDS: Absolutely.

CAMEROTA: Is it just because she's a woman?

RICHARDS: Absolutely not. You look at everything that Hillary Clinton has done her entire lifetime, long before she was in public office as first lady, fighting for children's health insurance program. Certainly as a United States senator, she introduced eight separate bills to expand women's access to health care. She introduced equal pay. And, of course, Tim Kaine has been a champion for women and families his entire lifetime. So this goes way beyond gender. And, again, I think these issues actually appeal not only to women voters, but to men as well.

CUOMO: So you've got issues in house and you've got issues out of house in terms of the opposition from the Republican Party. In house, Tim Kaine. The - one of the things that's listed as a strong point for him, he's a man of faith. He's a strong catholic. Along with that faith goes an intended (ph) belief about abortion. How do - how do you deal with that? Because that would put him on the other side of your policy position.

RICHARDS: Well, he's been very clear that his own personal opinions don't relate to policy. And, in fact, as senator, he's had a 100 percent rating with the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. He has been a champion for Planned Parenthood. And I think it is important to draw the contrast. You see on the other side, Mike Pence, who basically has made his whole political career out of attacking Planned Parenthood, trying to defund Planned Parenthood. They've now put that into the Republican Party platform. There could not be a starker difference.

CUOMO: How so? Why do you - what do you think they put in their platform that is dangerous to you?

RICHARDS: They put - for the very first time, they've actually put in the party platform that the Republican Party's position is they want to end access for women to Planned Parenthood. This is the first time that's ever happened. And that means ending access for women to birth control, to cancer screenings. For many women, Planned Parenthood is their only health care provider, and the Republican Party says if we're elected, if Trump and Pence are elected, we're going to take that away from you.

CUOMO: Well, the government - the answer, though, is - not the answer, the counter argument is, why should government pay for that? If you want those types of services, which, again, they define much more narrowly than you do. They say, if you want an abortion, you go pay for it. The government's not going to pay for it.

[08:45:03] RICHARDS: Well, Chris, the government doesn't pay for it. So, in fact, the Republican Party platform isn't - has nothing do with that. The Republican Party platform is saying, if you're a low income woman in the state of Texas, and you need a cancer exam, you can't go to Planned Parenthood for that sheerly for political purposes.

And, look, Planned Parenthood operates just like all other health care providers. We get reimbursed for the care that we provide. And 2.5 million people voluntarily come to us every year. The Republicans are saying, this issue we've made so political that we now want to get between women and their doctors and their clinicians. And, frankly, that's not where the American people are. You know, one in five women in America have been to Planned Parenthood for health care in their lifetime. And that's what I - they have made - the Republicans have now made this a voting issue and I think it will be a voting issue this November.

CAMEROTA: When you heard Donald Trump say in an interview that women who get abortion should be punished, he later came out and tried to sort of change or massage that message. But when you heard that, what happened in the halls of Planned Parenthood when he made that statement?

RICHARDS: Well, I think not just at Planned Parenthood, I think across the country, I think it shows a world (ph) view that Donald Trump has about women. Obviously he has said very demeaning things about women, calling them pigs. His - he, obviously, does not believe that women should have equal rights. And I think the Republican Party platform shows that. Important thing to me is that women across America need to know the positions that Donald Trump has taken, not only ending access to Planned Parenthood, he said he's going to appoint justices that would end Roe versus Wade, a whole host of policy issues that would take women back to the 1950s.

CUOMO: We're talking here policy. It matters. But this is a personal moment as well. You have a moment in history that should be nonpartisan. Your mom, Ann Richards, a hero within the party to be sure. What do you think her response would have been to having a woman nominated as the party's representative to be president of the United States?

RICHARDS: Well, I think everyone who was in the hall last night could feel all the women that we stand on the shoulders of, and that's certainly including my mother. You know, women, I think there was nothing that gave my mother greater pride than the success of other women. She knew Hillary Clinton. She worked side by side with her on a host of issues that helped women and families in this country getting access to health care. I know she was there in spirit, and I think all of us are so proud that Hillary has done this. And that it is actually going to change what women and girls believe they're capable of, not only in the United States, but around the globe.

And I do believe, as you say, Chris, this is not a partisan issue. This should be a celebration across the country that finally a woman will be a nominee of her party come November.

CAMEROTA: Cecile Richards, thanks so much for being on NEW DAY. It's nice to talk to you.

RICHARDS: Great to be here this morning. Thanks.

CAMEROTA: All right, well, he is known for his legendary basketball skills and game, but now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is taking on a role as an activist. He is speaking at the DNC tomorrow and he's going to join us live with a preview, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:51:46] CUOMO: Both parties' conventions are happening amid obvious tension in this country. You can define it as between police and between black Americans, but that would probably be inaccurate. There's just tension in this country.

Now, our next guest has written extensively about police, Black Lives Matter, and race in America, and he is scheduled to address the DNC on Thursday. Six-time NBA champion and all-time leading scorer, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, joins us right now. He's the author of a new book, "Writings on the Wall: Searching for a New Equality."

Kareem, you're a huge figure in the NBA, but you matter just as much in terms of what you've done with your life in speaking to these issues. What do you want to say to people at the convention?

KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR, AUTHOR, "WRITINGS ON THE WALL: SEARCHING FOR A NEW EQUALITY": Well, I just want to get the notion across that if we can get to the point where we can talk to each other and get an understanding of what the issues are, we can solve this. But until we can do that, things are going to be really strained, as you just mentioned. Until we can get to the point where we can talk across the aisle and talk with - among ourselves about what's important and what has to be done, it's going to be tough.

CAMEROTA: You've called out other high-profile athletes, including legend Michael Jordan, for not speaking out. And this week he seems to have heard your message because he did speak out. He gave an interview, or at least comments, to his website, "The Undefeated," in which he basically said it's been too long, it's gone on too long, and that he was going to give $1 million each to the NAACP to try to talk about these issues and deal with these issues and the International Association of Police Chiefs. So both sides. And that must have been heartening to you. ABDUL-JABBAR: It was very heartening, and - especially when someone

like Michael Jordan is going to become involved. I was very happy to see that. You know, he lost his father to gun violence. His father was driving on I-95, pulled over to take a rest, and was carjacked. And was a John Doe for a couple of days. They didn't know who he was.

CAMEROTA: And so why do you think Michael Jordan was silent for so long given that?

ABDUL-JABBAR: Sometimes you don't know what to do. Sometimes it's very confusing. The most effective way to deal with such an extreme tragedy. And, you know, when you lose your father in a way like that, in that type of circumstance, it's really got to probably make you depressed and unable to respond. I know that happened to me for a while when my mom died.

CUOMO: There are personal considerations. They are also professional ones. I mean, you know, you are different. You've embraced - you embraced your Muslim faith before people were doing it in an outward way.

ABDUL-JABBAR: Yes.

CUOMO: You've spoken to these issues almost like a Bill Russell, not to compare one big man to another, but you took on things that you knew would be unpopular. And, let's be honest, there are brand considerations. You know, Michael Jordan was a big face for whites and black America. Everyone wanted to be like Mike. You start talking about these things, now people don't like you as much. That's part of it, isn't it?

ABDUL-JABBAR: It certainly is part of it. But Michael's been so successful. I think he can let go of that fear because he's established his success and people understand that he has some things to say that might clarify things for them and enable them to make a good choice in dealing with these issues.

[08:55:12] CAMEROTA: So when you say it's time to start talking about it, Chris and I do this all the time on our show. We do start the dialogue. But what are the answers? What do you think is the answers to the tension that communities are feeling with the police right now?

ABDUL-JABBAR: Well, you know, these are very tough times and the usual answers, people seem to like skip over them, and that is doing better with education and jobs. Those are the things that enable people to escape really bad circumstances and go out and find what they want - the paths that they want to follow in their lives and go and do that. And -

CUOMO: And why do you think we ignore that? One of the frustrations - I saw you - your face when you were listening to the introduction where I say, I don't think it should be defined as between blacks and police, because education and poverty are at the root of all these things, but people don't want to talk about it. And one sinister reason is, it's easy to make it about the police versus blacks, but that's not necessarily an accurate reflection - ABDUL-JABBAR: Right.

CUOMO: Of why you have crime problems in America and violence problems in America. So how do you bridge it? A metaphor, Kareem speaking at the Democratic Convention, but he's got elephants on a blue tie around his neck, the Republican symbols. How do we cross it?

ABDUL-JABBAR: Well, I wear the elephants because my mom liked elephants.

CUOMO: Well, I'm using it for another reason. Don't break up my point. So, what do you think? How do you get people on to the same page of wanting to talk about the difficult reasons that lead to violence, not the obvious conflicts?

ABDUL-JABBAR: I think we can do it because everybody knows that unless - until we get this rapport going, we're going to have all these problems. And we don't want the problems. You know, we want - we want to see people being able to work their way past all of this, and making our country safe and secure for everybody. And, you know, that goes for people who are about law and order, and other people who are suffering because they've been disadvantaged. Got to get those two people talking to each other, and able to figure out the way around all of these different pitfalls that afflict all of us.

CAMEROTA: Are you hearing enough of that here at the DNC?

ABDUL-JABBAR: I'd like to hear more of it.

CUOMO: Good, because you're going to speak to it.

ABDUL-JABBAR: Yes.

CAMEROTA: You're starting that conversation.

ABDUL-JABBAR: Absolutely.

CAMEROTA: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, thanks so much. Great to meet you and talk about all of this.

ABDUL-JABBAR: My pleasure. Nice talking to you.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

All right, thanks so much for watching NEW DAY.

"NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello will pick up after this very quick break and we'll see you back here tomorrow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: History made in Pennsylvania. We are live in Philadelphia, outside the Wells Fargo Center, the site of the Democratic National Convention.

[09:00:01] Good morning, everyone. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.